Singed
by deathtoonormalcy
Summary: Castiel dies protecting Dean and leaves his mark on the elder Winchester.


I do not own Supernatural.

* * *

o0~Tattoo~0o

Sam's knocked out, took a hard hit to the back of the head and he's laying unconscious and bleeding on the dirt. Dean hopes the fucking demon will just kill him and think they're both dead. Sam's fluttering barely there pulse is enough hope for Dean. He's willing die, if it's enough to satisfy this demon. It's not like he can fight anyway, his arms broken and he's pretty sure his legs mangled.

He's dead, but as long as Sam lives that's enough. Dean can feel the demon stalking closer. Hear the boots in the mud.

"You killed him, you son of a bitch." Dean pants, licking the blood from his lips. He's a good liar, this should be nothing.

"Tell me where your angel is and I might spare your life." The demon's voice is like hissing snakes against his ear. Dean shiver, using his tongue to dab at his dry lips.

"I'd say go to hell, but-" The demon sharply knocks him aside. He falls flat in the mud, breath making Sammy's hair tickle over his forehead. Now that Dean's gonna die, he wonders how long he'll let it grow. Dean's vision goes black at the edges but he holds on.

"You're willing to die for some _thing_ that won't even come when you call." The demon taunts. But the angel sword is fixed tightly against the demon's knuckles. There are several more surrounding them. Cas would be a fucking moron to come into this. He'd die the second he touched down. There was no point, not like him dying would save the Winchester's anyways.

"He comes. I just ain't called him yet." Dean grins from the dirt caking half of his bleeding face. The demon snarls, gripping him by the back of his jacket and he is hauled up to his knees. He prays, hoping his death is enough of a distraction for Cas to laser beam Sam to safety.

"Last chance Winchester. I can kill you now and he'll just fly his pretty ass down here to avenge you anyways." The demon spits against his ear and his flinches. It's true he knows. Cas will show up a few moments too late, all blue eyes flaming and grace burning up from the inside out.

"I know, maybe he'll have enough juice to send all of your asses into oblivion." Dean grins, feeling the muck and grim slide against his teeth. He spits it out on the floor, feeling the prick of the angel blade against his back. Right over his spine. He shivers. It'll be a slow death. He has his back turned, he never expected he'd go without a fight. But he will, if it's gives Sammy even a slightly better chance. He closes his eyes resigning to his death.

It hurts. Fuck it hurts. His entire body burns and he feels his breath punch out of his lungs in a shutter.

"Dean." That low soothing rumble. Cas. He smiles against the pain. Couple seconds too late, just like he expected. Everything is lit up, he keeps his eyes squeezed shut knowing it's Castiel's grace pouring over the abandoned field they'd been jumped in.

"Cas." Dean breathes, relief pouring into him. Cas won't let Sam die. He fels Cas slump forward, forehead pressing into his shoulder before it processes.

Dean's eyes snap open.

"Cas!" Dean whirls around. The field is too empty now. Sam laying unconscious his breath ragged now. Dean needs to get him to the hospital. But for the first time in his life Sam isn't the person he's most concerned about. Cas's blue eyes are half open, lips parted and he's limp Dean shakes him.

"You drained?" Dean's voice cracks and he knows. He just knows.

"Fuck." He chokes. Dean prays to him, hopes he shocked his vessel or something and had to zap to heaven. Something, anything. Dean's still burning, but he ignores it.

"Cas, come on man." Dean's begging, he wraps and arm around the angel and nearly hurls at what he feels. Protruding from Cas's back is the angel sword. The one meant for him. He let's out a shuttering breath and he's freezing and too hot at the same time. His skin hurts.

Dean blinks back tears, pulling the sword out.

"Please." He's not sure who he's asking, but he is. Not Cas, not his Cas. Castiel looks calm in death, almost relaxed. Dean shakily curls his arms around him.

"M'sorry." It's wet and stuffy and lost int he wind as it picks up. But he says it. Dean lays Cas down and goes to pick up his brother, sending one last look over his shoulder before driving Sam to the nearest hospital.

* * *

Dean's still in shock when they roll his brother into the emergency room. He slumps into a chair until he's being tugged into his own room.

"What? I'm fine." Dean murmurs. Cas made sure of closes his eyes against the onslaught of new tears. He'll never admit he cried soundlessly in the Impala, shooting looks into the backseat hoping two owlish blue eyes would be peering back.

"You have severe burns, sir." The nurse says worriedly. Dean blinks and looks down for the first time. He can feel it, starting from his back and trailing down the sides of his arms where Cas had protectively wrapped around him. He feels it on his sides too and his jacket and shirt are mostly disintegrated.

It hurts.

Dean lets them bandage him up. He doesn't really think how the burns got there. Doesn't really care either. Cas is gone and it hurts. When Sam finally gets released a week later they head out to find Cas's body but it's gone.

"What happened to you?" Sam asks, playing with the bandage on his head idly.

"Cas saved me." Is Dean's only reply. Sam doesn't say anything. It's nearly a two weeks when Dean finally calls the nurse and asks if it's okay to take off the fucking bandages.

She says no, but he does anyway.

They're beautiful. Cas's wings imprinted onto his skin. Each feather like it had been dipped in black ink and pressed into his flesh to stay there permanently. The wings cover his entire upper back, arching over his shoulders before curving down his forearms. The wings wrap halfway around his mid section before cutting off sharply, like Dean had put tape there to mark off where he wanted the black feathers too stop.

"You've been in here awhile, you oka-" Sam's words cut off and his breath halts with a gasp. Dean stares at Castiel's mark left on his skin and he feels damn tears prickling the backs of his eyes again. He swipes at them with a grin.

"Thanks Cas."


End file.
